Blog Entries tagged 'fear'

"An
anti-war march, Saturday, through the streets of Tel Aviv. Pro-war
shouters collect like flies along the side of the route - the Magav
keeps them surrounded, but sometimes they're a nose-distance away,
fist-thrashing and enraged. We move from Rabin Square along Ibn Gvirol
to the Cinemateque, Arab and Jewish Israelis, side-by-side. Stop the killing. We want a different future for our peoples - a future of peace, we chant.

But there were several children in another intensive care unit on
Tuesday. Among them was Ismael Hamdan, 8, who had severe brain damage
as well as two broken legs, according to a doctor there. Earlier that
day, two of his sisters, Lama, 5, and Hayya, 12, were killed.

“I
prepared them breakfast that day in the garden,” said their mother,
Ayda, 36. “They had the tea, bread and thyme. Lama wanted a second
pita, but we all teased her saying, ‘Keep it for lunch.’ She told us,
‘Don’t worry, God will provide us with bread.’

“She made all of
us laugh,” the mother said. “I cleaned after them and collected the
garbage. Ismael volunteered to dump the garbage, but Hayya and Lama
joined him. The garbage can is in front of the house, a five-minute
walk away. All of a sudden I heard the news from a neighbor, and I ran
barefoot to the hospital. A relative collected the bodies of Lama and
Hayya on a donkey cart.

“The neighbors ran trying to save
Ismael, who was the only one breathing,” she said. “They say my kids
flew 40 meters before hitting the ground.”